Schönfeld, Henning, born 19-05-1894 in Stettin, entered the Army Service on 12-02-1912, age 17, as a Fahnenjunker in the Königlich Preußische Army. He joined the Rheinisches Ulanen-Regiment „Großherzog Friedrich von Baden“ Nr.7
. He was promoted to Leutnant on 18-08-1913, following the war school. With this regiment his was involved in the battles of the first war and promoted to Oberleutnant on 05-10-1916. From December 1917 he as first Courier Officer in the Staff of the 241st Infantry Division was on the Baltic Front. He was not only wounded in the first war but also received both the Iron Crosses
and the Wounded Badge in Black
Before the end of the first war already he because of his war injuries was retired in September 1919, as a Rittmeister. In the civil life he was a merchant, but with the growing of Hitler’s Reichswehr he reactivated on 01-10-1934 as a Squadron Chief in the Cavalry Regiment in Bad Cannstatt, former commander then Oberstleutnant, Maximillian Freiherr von Weichs.
With the beginning of World War II he was the commander of the 20th Information Service Department in Hamburg Fischbek. He, with his division was in the Poland invasion, where he was awarded with the claps of the Iron Cross
. Transferred to the Western front where he with his division was involved. His division with the 20th Infantry Divison
under Generalleutnant der Infanterie, Helmut Friebe
had heavy battles in the Netherlands, (see Jan Ackermans) and France and was promoted to 01-06-1940 to Oberstleutnant. After the Western invasion he was transferred to the High command of the OKH as a Group leader in the Inspection of the 6th Truck Troops and received the Knight Cross of the Iron Cross for his brave behaviour as commander. Promoted now to Oberst on 01-04-1942 and from 01-03-1943 as commander of the new 29th Motorized Grenadier Regiment with the 3rd Grenadier Division, under General der Panzertruppe, Fritz Hubert Gräser in France. In July 1943 transferred to Italy to occupy Rome, after the armistice of the Italians. He was also involved in the battles for Salerno, Monte Cassino and Anzio, against the forces of the English Generals Harold Alexander, Bernard Montgomery and the American Generals Mark Wayne Clark
and Henry Hewitt. In August Schönfeld with his 29th Regiment was transferred to Hirschberg for a division leaders course. From September 1944 he was the successor of Oberst Eberhard von Nostitz as commander of the 2nd Panzer Division
. Little was left of his Division as they suffered a lot of losses in the battles against the Allied forces in the Eifel. Promoted to Major General on 01-12-1944. Mid December 1944 shortly before the Ardennes Offensive he lost his command to Oberst der Panzertruppe, Kommandeur 2nd Panzer Division, Meinrad von Lauchert
and retired from the Army. At the end of the war he was still captured by the British Troops and first released in 1947. His son Henning was killed age 23 in 1944 and his son Jürgen, age 21 in 1945.
Death and burial ground of Schönfeld, Henning.

Living in Bonn Schönfeld died at the age 63, on 11-03-1958 and is buried with his wife Emilie, born von Hofenfels, who died old age 88, in 1983, on the Stadtfriedhof of Partenkirchen. Close by the graves of muscian, Richard Strauss, the Generaloberst der Infanterie, commander of the VII Army Corps, Wilhelm Adam and General der Flieger, Kommandeur Luftregio XVIII, Egon Doerstling.


Leave a Reply